Exercise #2

What do you think of when I say the word "car?" There's an image in the back of your mind, unbidden. Perhaps you think of your first car, or your current car, or your dream car. Maybe it's that red VW Beetle that your parents had growing up. Maybe it's not a car at all because you drive a truck or a minivan. Still, when you hear that word "car," it's likely that you subconsciously think of something. And that "something" is just a little bit different than what I think of, or the next person thinks of. It's not much, but there is just that tiny bit of dissonance. Words are symbols with meaning for each of us.

In the English language, to make matters worse, we have words which sound the same yet have different meanings. There are three of them in the sentence preceding this one: "to", "have" and "which" (too, two, halve and witch). See what I mean (eye mein)? It's enough to drive ewe crazy.

The point of this excercise is to have some fun demonstrating the importance of proper word choice. Write a poem using ten homonyms from this gargantuan homonym list

Now, for comparison, use the alternate homonyms and post this beneath your original poem. How has the meaning changed? How has your impression of the writing changed?

Complete this exercise to gain this Award for your profile:

**Recommended reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_in_Thought_and_Action